This singleton’s pad is stylish, sexy and ready for reality TV

Photograph by: Nathan Denette
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The typical bachelor pad of a bygone era? A melee of hockey sticks, a worn out La-Z-Boy (the chair, not the great galoot spread-eagled on it), a multiplex-sized TV and an ice box packed with cans of Canadian. Oh, and empty pizza boxes everywhere, plundered of their carbs by guzzling lads with liquor and laydeez on their mind. For the love of God, did we ever play a more potent cliché?

But of course, plus ca change. Today’s bachelor is eminently more stylish than the one who occupies our opening paragraph. Fact is, we know legions of cool guys who’d be utterly affronted to think their demographic — and its alleged style bypass — was being derided without comparative balance. But, of course, balance is that which we’re all about.

Were proof of an updated bachelor pad required, you only need look at today’s photography. Capturing the very essence of “new” male singletons, the design is wonderfully hip; blissfully cutting, in fact, yet not over edge. If you enjoy U.S. reality export The Bachelor, you’ll know that aspirational interiors underline the franchise. We’ll concede that bubbling hot tubs, explosive sexual chemistry and elaborate social dynamics are also important but, as designers, we’re suckers for the glossy mansions that serve as the deluxe backdrop to the emotionally fraught stories.

Bringing the action closer to home, a sister ship (shouldn’t that be brother ship?) has been preparing to land in Canada and the action started Wednesday on Citytv. Here’s a heads up on The Bachelor Canada: the group of 25 bachelorettes includes a neuroscientist, a Playboy model and a yoga instructor, all of whom, it has to be said, are pretty hot. Prepare for handbags at dawn; the Canadian franchise promises to be big on drama.

But anyway, the house. Once owned by ex-NHLer Len Barrie, the monolithic pile is arranged across 13,500 square feet and positioned at the top of Bear Mountain on Vancouver Island. Built in 2008 and awarded a Georgie Award in 2009 by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia, the structure speaks volumes of its architect Alan Lowe and interior designer Kimberley Williams. Recently, however, it was further enhanced by production designer Sydney Sharpe.

Assigned the task of creating a high-impact interior befitting the first bachelor (football player Brad Smith), Queen’s University-educated Sharpe converted the massive mansion into a captivating TV crib, drawing upon her experience in the world of film, commercials and video.

We caught up with the Vancouver-based visionary to discuss the exciting project and, it should be reported, her soothing personality seduced us from the moment our interface began. Sharpe is never blunt; she speaks her mind, certainly, but does so with an air of calm authority.

“The U.S. series performs incredibly well, so there’s huge anticipation that the Canadian version will follow suit. I reckon viewers emotionally lock into and feel ownership of shows like this, so it was important that whatever I created was inspiring, yet believable. But it also had to be exciting for the bachelorettes and, of course, their suitor Brad.”

The luxurious home already boasted an infinity pool, a basketball court and a home theatre, but significant adjustments were required to make it television-ready. “I scouted the location with the show’s directors,” Sharpe explains, “and we worked through every detail. I mooted contemporary, glamorous lines, eventually specifying a minimal palette of white, black and silver with enlivening accents like red.” Long since a favourite C&J tone, we chat about its inclusion. “Red is fantastic. It’s bold, energizing and all about passion. I wanted to create an alluring, hedonistic environment, but it had to be simultaneously relaxing. I guess, like any real home, atmosphere was everything.”

There’s little — if anything — we don’t like about The Bachelor Canada mansion; it has that rare esthetic that appeals to men and women in equal measure. “The resolution needed to be relevant for Brad, as it’s his home throughout the series, but it couldn’t be so masculine that it alienated the girls. It was a balancing act from start to finish.”

Balancing act aside, how did Sharpe concoct her overall vision? “Due to my film background, I have a perpetually panoramic vision in my head. Every detail, from every angle, is important.”

Pausing for a moment, perhaps gathering her thoughts, Sharpe adds, “Sightlines, too, are critical. When I was dressing the huge windows, for example, I wasn’t just envisaging drapery, I was figuring out how the vignette would yield to the view outdoors. The curtaining is translucent with a shimmering, seductive appeal and the drapery tableau helps draw the eye to the twinkling cherry blossom trees, the swimming pool and the city (Victoria), way in the distance.”

Sharpe explains how she harvested Mother Nature’s bounty to bring her set alive. “I used white and magenta orchids indoors, as well as scarlet peonies and exotic tropicals, and together they suffused the atmosphere with romance.” And outdoors? “I went to town with red and purple azaleas, lime green euphorbia and architectural boxwood.”

Further drama was added, indoors and out, with flaming torchieres, leggy candelabra and legions of flickering votives. If you watch the series, you’ll observe the magic; Sharpe knows precisely how to capture the essence of romance.

Our conversation drawing to an end, we wonder if, in real life a girl can be swayed to fall in love, courtesy of clever esthetics and beautiful interior design? “I’m not going to suggest that paint, wallpaper and fabric can build a bridge where romantic attraction has failed, but environment is certainly important. I guess a guy’s home, and everything it conveys, are potential markers for romantic allure. Everything is contextual, right?”

So, girls of Canada; remember that much can be learned about a man from the cut of his designer jib, or the crease in his decorative drape.

The Bachelor Canada airs Wednesdays. More information at bachelorcanada.ca. More on Sydney Sharpe at sydneysharpeinc.ca.

Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan are the hosts of HGTV’s Colin & Justin’s Home Heist and the authors of Colin & Justin’s Home Heist Style Guide, published by Penguin Group (Canada). Follow them on Twitter@colinjustin or on Facebook (ColinandJustin). Contact them through their website colinandjustin.tv.

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